FOOTNOTES:

^a Literally, ‘whom I love en truth.’ The preposition en here seems to be a preposition of manner, indicating how the verb is done; therefore, ‘truth’ indicates the manner of loving, or that the writer is loving Gaius truly.

^b Or ‘Loved one’

^c This word is not the more common proseuchomai, but rather a related word, euchomai. The English ‘pray’ or ‘pray for’ are common ways to translate it, but also could be translated other ways based on context, such as ‘speak confidently/declare,’ ‘speak boastfully/claim,’ ‘speak triumphantly/exult,’ or ‘promise/vow.’

^d Or ‘very self.’ This is psyche, traditionally, ‘soul.’ It refers to the life energy animating a person, the quality of being a living being. It is sometimes used interchangeably with pneuma for the life-breath. It seems to have to do with the core self, the consciousness and energy that makes a person a living being.

^e Or ‘genuineness’ or ‘trustworthiness’ or ‘truth’

^f This instance of en is being taken as a preposition of standard, ‘according to the standard of truth.’ It could also be designating motion toward truth if it is assumed to be using it figuratively, which could be appropriate since ‘walk’ is being used in a figurative way here.

^g “The Name” was a way to refer respectfully to YHWH (the name of God, which means something like ‘The One Who Is’ without writing it out, which was a practice to express extreme reverence).

^h Or ‘coworkers regarding the truth’

ⁱ This name means ‘fed by Zeus’ which could have been his name, or it could have been a nickname indicating his allegiance to power and the way of the world system rather than allegiance to love and the way of Christ.

^j ‘First’ usually means ‘highest status/power’ in scripture, rather than sequentially the first in time.

^k Traditionally, ‘bad.’ The Greek kakos can mean many specific things based on context. The general sense is that is lacking in some positive quality. More specific to most of the uses in the Bible, it has to do with being harmful or unfortunate (about circumstances) or unkind or hostile (about people/spirits). Literally, the phrasing in this sentence is ‘don’t imitate the hostile.’

^l Traditionally, ‘good.’ The Greek agathos can mean many specific things based on context. The general sense is that possesses some positive quality. More specific to most of the uses in the Bible, it has to do with being beneficial (about circumstances) or benevolent (about people/spirits). Literally, the phrasing in this sentence is ‘but the kind instead.’

^m This name means ‘of Demeter’ (the goddess of the harvest, grain, and agriculture).

ⁿ Traditionally, ‘testified to.’ The word martureo (where the English word ‘martyr’ comes from) is usually translated as ‘testify.’ However, the English word testify calls to mind courtroom settings, but that is not the only use of the Greek word. It means to make a statement or report about the truth of something, or sometimes about the positive quality of something, as in this case. Sometimes translating it as ‘report’ or ‘declaration of what’s true’ works, or when it’s specifically about communicating that something is positive, ‘endorse’ is appropriate.

^o Literally, a ‘reed,’ which was used to make writing tools, much like feathers have been used as quills in other parts of history.

^p Literally, ‘mouth-to-mouth’ which is a Greek idiom that means the same as the English ‘face-to-face.’

^q The word for ‘friends’ is philos, related to philia or ‘care for someone.’ It refers to someone with whom one shares philia, which signifies a relational bond of trust and affection between family members and close friends.

^r The word ‘here’ is not in the Greek but is added for clarity.

^s The word ‘there’ is not in the Greek but is added for clarity.